Masquerade
by tuxedotservo
Summary: Miyu gets talked into going to a masquerade by Chisato and finds the ideal dance partner. A short, whimsical piece. Based loosely on the anime.


Masquerade   
-------------

Miyu stood in the corner, watching the crowd move about the darkened room with what   
she hoped was an air of indifference on her part, but was much more like a touch of   
coldness. Her eyes scanned the faces of the young people, picking out Yukari and Hisae   
in their masks as they mingled in the crowd, smiling and chatting happily with various   
young men 

"Maybe Larva was right..." Larva had been warning her of late that she had grown too   
close to these girls, and Miyu was just setting herself up to be hurt. Miyu had shrugged it   
off. "It's just a masquerade!" Miyu had insisted. "I'm going to get Chisato to stop   
asking me about it, nothing more!" But that wasn't really the truth. Miyu knew it, and   
deep down she knew Larva saw through it as well. There was more. 

_Chisato_... 

Her friend...her _friend_! It was hard for her to process that word, since she really had   
never known friendship, other than Larva, and that was different. Chisato was bringing   
out traits in her that she didn't know she could experience. One of them was a curiosity   
in what humans did for fun. Miyu had watched, countless times, the various social   
functions and forms of entertainment, but this was as involved as she had ever been... 

If what she was doing could be called involvement. 

For Miyu, the fearless Guardian, enemy of Shinma, and ageless Princess of the Vampires,   
couldn't get up the nerve to step into the crowd, masked or not. Miyu kicked at the floor   
in frustration at herself, both for her ineptitude and also for what she was quickly   
attributing to childish jitters. "They are just humans!" she assured herself, but yet her   
body didn't move. Her interpersonal relationships with humans had been fairly limited,   
if one included drinking their blood and putting them into fantasy... 

"Miyu? Come on!" Chisato appeared out of nowhere, flipping her mask up onto her   
head. "The idea is to _mingle_!" The friendship charm, fitted to a silver necklace, bounced   
around Chisato's neck, dancing its own masquerade. "Come with me!" Chisato grabbed   
Miyu by the hand, pulling her out onto the floor with a strength that surprised Miyu. 

Miyu stood in the center of the floor, not moving, as various forms moved about her.   
Several masked young males asked her to dance, but she politely declined, trying to   
make herself as small as possible, planning her escape. On a couple occasions, Miyu   
thought of just vanishing, but each time Chisato would appear, as if she had a sense. On   
one of these occasions she had a young boy in tow. 

"Young girl friend of mine...this is a young male friend of mine..." Chisato giggled. "I   
thought you two could dance together for a bit." 

Miyu looked at the young boy, hidden by the mask. "Who is he?" 

Chisato laughed. "I can't tell you _that_!" she insisted. "That would ruin the point of the   
masquerade!" Chisato smiled, pulling the hapless boy close to Miyu and then skipping   
off to interfere with Hisae and Yukari. 

Miyu and the masked boy looked at each other for a few seconds. Miyu waited   
until Chisato was out of earshot. "You may go," she whispered. "Don't feel obligated."   
Relief appeared behind the mask, and the boy was gone in a flash, leaving Miyu in the   
middle of the floor, standing alone once more. Miyu looked at her little feet, wondering   
if the night would ever end, when a tap came on her shoulder. 

"I'm not interested in dancing," Miyu said softly, not turning around to look at the person   
in question. "I don't feel like it." 

Another tap on the shoulder, and Miyu balled her fists, spinning around to tell the   
offending masquerader to leave her alone, in no uncertain terms. Miyu froze, and her   
eyes worked their way slowly up the body, to the familiar mask, and the dazzling eyes   
behind it. She took in a quick breath in surprise and shock, and those eyes behind the   
mask lit up even more. The figure held out a hand, and Miyu took it, instinctively.   
"Larva..." Miyu whispered softly as the figure swept her out onto the floor. 

Larva swept Miyu around the floor. Miyu had seen his power, countless times in battle,   
but he was showing a whole new side this night. Larva was waltzing with her, showing a   
grace and style that soon had everyone in the room watching. Miyu followed his lead,   
concentrating just to keep up, but never failing. Each time she felt unsure of her motions,   
she would look into those eyes and be strengthened and reassured. After the music   
ended, the room broke out into applause, and Larva and Miyu both bowed, ever so   
slightly, and then moved into the next dance. 

Chisato waltzed by with a partner, looking over Miyu and her mysterious partner. "An   
older guy, huh? Lucky! He's good!" she giggled, dancing away as Miyu smiled under   
her mask. 

"Yes...lucky..." Miyu thought to herself, as the music slowed and Larva pulled her in   
closer. "You have no idea, Chisato..." Miyu thought a moment. "I actually didn't,   
either." She looked up into those dazzling eyes, and her eyes sparkled. 

They danced the night away... 

Later that night, after the masquerade had ended, Miyu sat on the branch of a tree, her   
bare feet hanging down. Larva stood next to her, his hair waving gently in the night   
breezes. Miyu looked up at him, questioningly. "So why did you dance with me tonight,   
Larva?" she asked, cocking her head to the side. 

"I didn't want to see you hurting," Larva replied simply. "I had decided to follow, and I   
noticed how unpleasant things were going for you." He looked up at the moon. "And   
besides...the best dancer at the masquerade should have a worthy partner." He   
smiled down at her, and Miyu chuckled, looking back over the city. 

"Thank you for the dance," Miyu whispered, rising and looking at him. "It was great." She  
looked out over the city. "It was a nice diversion, but we must now return to our reality,  
our mission at hand." Miyu paused a moment, her gaze drifting off into the distance.

"Larva?"

Her tone seemed different, a little off, and Larva looked down at her curiously. "Yes,  
Miyu?"

Miyu sighed. "Will you promise me something?" Her voice seemed to waver  
a touch, as if she was thinking carefully about each word that she produced.

"I'll do my best," Larva replied, trying to read Miyu, trying to pick up a hint by her body   
language of what she was trying to convey. "What do you want me to promise?"

Miyu tipped her head to the left, clasping her hands behind her back. She spun away,   
walking along the branch towards the moon. "Promise you'll dance with me again,  
someday."

Larva watched Miyu as she walked away, jumping down to the ground below and   
looking up at him, her eyes aglow, expectant. "Of course," he answered, feeling a bit  
honored by the request. "It would be a delight."

Fan Fiction Copyright 2001 Kevin Turnquist  
Whimsical piece that I put together as it popped into my head. Don't know where it   
came from, it was just...there. Based on the anime, before the end of it. I'll probably be   
endlessly editing it...I'm weak that way.


End file.
